Wrexham Busy For Christmas
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Posts
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I don’t think it is a good line to take to expect people to support local traders just because they are local traders. As a community, the Council included, we have to make our offer so attractive that people will not want to go to other places. Cheap parking is one way but so too is ensuring that the Markets are overhauled and improved, and that the wider trading community work together (as they are now at last) and get the whole thing together
But surely before any business would ever want to come here, it has to be beneficial for them from a business standpoint and a town centre where people only spend on parking at Christmas isn’t really beneficial for them. People need to spend here all year round. Wrexham is for life, not just for Christmas. This is my point. The parking is payable now, but in 2 weeks time, those people will go back to complaining about the cost.
I do agree that the cost of parking is an issue, particularly on Eagles Meadow but until more people spend here, no one is making any money so everything HAS to increase. This is why parking is so much, why a bus from Hightown costs £1.90 into town because it’s the only way they can cover the costs.
Wrexham will only ever be appealing to anyone else, be it businesses or tourists when the people of Wrexham start actually caring enough to do something about it and the best place to start is by spending money here.
@Alunh 17362 wrote:
I don’t think it is a good line to take to expect people to support local traders just because they are local traders. As a community, the Council included, we have to make our offer so attractive that people will not want to go to other places. Cheap parking is one way but so too is ensuring that the Markets are overhauled and improved, and that the wider trading community work together (as they are now at last) and get the whole thing together
I don’t agree because I don’t think that is how people behave. I have always thought that people have to see it as in their immediate interests to behave in a certain way and that is why the Internet has been so successful. I have heard the argument that you are using about attending Wrexham Football games, about supporting Plas Madoc and about shopping in the town. I don’t believe that this is the way to go because, whilst people will from time to time put their interests on one side, that will not be sustained long term.
People have flooded into town in the last week because they want the certainty of supply (that the Internet can not supply at this juncture) and because they need things which are better bought locally. Like many, I have shopped this week with real method, ensuring that the last stop on the merry go round has been one involving frozen produce.
For whatever reason they have shopped in the town, there is no guarantee that they will do this the rest of the year. We cannot appeal to people to shop in Wrexham, it has to be made suitable to their interests. Stephanie Booth had one approach to this….make the town exciting. Draw in the kids, draw in the parents. Ruth Rhys has another…..provide a town trail. Nigel Lewis has advanced another…..the excitement surrounding the Small Business Saturday.
These are some of the things that can be done but there has to be a really concerted effort. Wrexham Council can help by reducing the long term non-competitive rents charged in the Market to encourage exciting businesses to set up and attract more punters. Car Parking charges can be lowered to shoe horn folk in. More events like the one I run around Record Store Day need encouraging, Pop Up shops promoted wherever and whenever. The outdoor Market promoted and located more creatively…and so on.
This is not a 5 minute exercise. People have been weaned off this town. They need encouraging back. Dylan has suggested that the Town Centre Forum needs radically overhauling to make it more focussed and able to get results. Great idea. Traders need to make the Business group work. Social media needs pounding……more, more , more……..
A key item often overlooked is the level of customer care- hairdressers generally get repeat customers because they have time to chat and build up a relationship. Smaller businesses in particular can spend a little extra time dealing with a customer and make them feel ‘special’- the time will pay dividends with repeat custom (if the products are right)
Some great points made Alun. Although in terms of Wrexham football ground and supporting Plas Madoc I’m unsure as to what you are referring to as I don’t recall any argument I have used regarding either of them.
But this is a catch 22. There needs to be more in the town to encourage people to come in, but it’s difficult to encourage people to come in when shops don’t want to come here because it’s not cost effective for them. I agree with the idea of specific days and weeks within the town. I attended for the Small Business Day and enjoyed it. The vibe in the town was brilliant. Perhaps a poll can be done as to what people of Wrexham WANT to see in their town and go from there? One idea that was posted was that a park and ride could be introduced and that may work well, especially in terms of parking. If you lower the cost of parking, the car parks get full and we end up turning shoppers away.
I have also seen Wrexham compared to Chester in terms of footfall but one thing that seems to be missing is that Chester is a city that is rich in Roman history, Wrexham isn’t either.
So the question is, can anyone really take the time and effort to put something on town every week to encourage shoppers to come to town? And can they convince ALL the shops, local and national to get involved.
What is the record day that you organise? SOunds interesting.
@Alunh 17370 wrote:
I don’t agree because I don’t think that is how people behave. I have always thought that people have to see it as in their immediate interests to behave in a certain way and that is why the Internet has been so successful. I have heard the argument that you are using about attending Wrexham Football games, about supporting Plas Madoc and about shopping in the town. I don’t believe that this is the way to go because, whilst people will from time to time put their interests on one side, that will not be sustained long term.
People have flooded into town in the last week because they want the certainty of supply (that the Internet can not supply at this juncture) and because they need things which are better bought locally. Like many, I have shopped this week with real method, ensuring that the last stop on the merry go round has been one involving frozen produce.
For whatever reason they have shopped in the town, there is no guarantee that they will do this the rest of the year. We cannot appeal to people to shop in Wrexham, it has to be made suitable to their interests. Stephanie Booth had one approach to this….make the town exciting. Draw in the kids, draw in the parents. Ruth Rhys has another…..provide a town trail. Nigel Lewis has advanced another…..the excitement surrounding the Small Business Saturday.
These are some of the things that can be done but there has to be a really concerted effort. Wrexham Council can help by reducing the long term non-competitive rents charged in the Market to encourage exciting businesses to set up and attract more punters. Car Parking charges can be lowered to shoe horn folk in. More events like the one I run around Record Store Day need encouraging, Pop Up shops promoted wherever and whenever. The outdoor Market promoted and located more creatively…and so on.
This is not a 5 minute exercise. People have been weaned off this town. They need encouraging back. Dylan has suggested that the Town Centre Forum needs radically overhauling to make it more focussed and able to get results. Great idea. Traders need to make the Business group work. Social media needs pounding……more, more , more……..
That I agree with. I will happily spend a bit more in a shop if the staff are friendly and helpful. If you don’t have the time of day to stop chatting about your weekend to everyone else you work with to chat with the customers then maybe a customer focused trade is not for you.
@JaneJ 17372 wrote:
A key item often overlooked is the level of customer care- hairdressers generally get repeat customers because they have time to chat and build up a relationship. Smaller businesses in particular can spend a little extra time dealing with a customer and make them feel ‘special’- the time will pay dividends with repeat custom (if the products are right)
Hi Justjojo2011
Hope you had a good Christmas
What you are saying I tend to agree with on a general basis. You have made many good points. Where we differ is on the idea that Wrexham consumers ought to support Wrexham shops automatically because they are Wrexham shops. I chose to widen your theme out using Wrexham FC as an example because I have heard the same said about the attendance at the Racecourse. My position on this is that people will attend if they think the offer suits them.
I understand this can create a difficulty because if people don’t support the football team, they will never get a good football team. Equally, if they don’t support the local shops, they will either lose them or never have an inflow of new ones. This is a real problem. Nevertheless, on balance, I think that all we can expect from people is that they weigh up their broad interests and support local shops that are supplying the right products (or services) at the right price in the right place to suit their requirements. That is why I never get hacked off if people I know buy elsewhere (family included).
You might ask why would someone who owns a shop take such a self-damaging line. The answer is simple. I have to keep focussed on reality not what I would like to be the way of it. Thus, when I owned Phase One on King Street, I didn’t expect people not to shop in Tescos or Woolworths or MVC or online or at HMV when it arrived. People were/are free to do as they please and, more importantly, will do.
I saw my task then, and now in Bank Street, as to build a business selling to the willing and my task as to create such a good offer that people would be progressively persuaded to shop with me. Essentially, I am committed to market economics. If I succeed, great, if I fail, one of those things.
What hacks me off, therefore, is not that local people may not shop with me…..I understand that…….it is when other things outside my control get in my way making it more difficult to remain competitive and run a great business. Thus, when Wrexham Council put the Car Parking charges up, it hacks me off because it dissuades some of my Customers from coming to my shop (and persuades them to buy in Tesco). It hacks me off when the Business Rates don’t drop in Wales meaning that I have to pass the additional charge onto my customers in my prices in order to survive.
It’s great, therefore, when the Council actually respond to sensible arguments and make some sensible concessions and it was a relief lately when the Welsh Assembly initiated some sort of Business Rates relief. We need now to collectively work on those 48 weeks outside Christmas and see if Wrexham can turn itself around. Much can be done by individual traders, much by the trading community and much by the Council. This will take a collective working together.
Lastly, I really would like to see people do what you suggest and buy local where possible, to think of their own community when they can and do their best
A lot of the traffic issues on Kingsmills Road would be avoided if people realised you could get to Eagles Meadow, Tesco and Asda ( and several carparks ) easier by turning down Whitegate Road.
@justjojo2011 17368 wrote:
But surely before any business would ever want to come here, it has to be beneficial for them from a business standpoint and a town centre where people only spend on parking at Christmas isn’t really beneficial for them. People need to spend here all year round. Wrexham is for life, not just for Christmas. This is my point. The parking is payable now, but in 2 weeks time, those people will go back to complaining about the cost.
I do agree that the cost of parking is an issue, particularly on Eagles Meadow but until more people spend here, no one is making any money so everything HAS to increase. This is why parking is so much, why a bus from Hightown costs £1.90 into town because it’s the only way they can cover the costs.
Wrexham will only ever be appealing to anyone else, be it businesses or tourists when the people of Wrexham start actually caring enough to do something about it and the best place to start is by spending money here.
People are not suddenly not complaining about the cost, I reckon they are just putting up with the cost in order to get their Xmas shopping done. The complaints are still there.
The problem with your argument is that you are expecting people to come and shop in wrexham and pay a premium price when they can either go elsewhere and park for free (broughton) or pay similar for parking and have a far nicer experience (chester).
Wrexham is a small market town, with a fairly large rural commuter area which means a lot of people have to drive to get in. Unless there is some shift in the car parking pricing then people are going to go elsewhere in order to get the best value for money. Eagles meadow used to be the towns one large, cheap car park, now gone and replaced by an eye wateringly expensive car park.
Xmas shopping takes most people all day as they like to get it done so parking costs are a small percent of time and money spent on shopping. However the rest of the year a lot of the towns business will be from people popping in for the odd item, this is when it becomes more of an issue as parking costs become a higher percentage.
This puts of the casual shopper who can bring in lots of business. As an example, before Xmas my wife asked me to return something to Asda Home store, due to work I was passing Broughton that day so used that store as parking is convenient and free. Whilst there I ended up doing my part of the kids Xmas shopping and spent over £200 in other stores. Now if I had gone to Wrexham I would have either parked in a side street free or been aware of limited time on my ticket so not had chance to shop properly. Similar to Island Green missing out when I use Argos click and collect, since they put up parking on island green I use the one at Plas Coch.
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